Gold and Silver
by jclark775
Summary: Months after Ruby's departure, Yang is still resting in Patch. Having given up on training, Yang spends her days just going through the motions of a normal life. Dinners with dad, some shopping every so often, and occupying her mind with whatever she can. She had almost willed herself to forget everything that happened at Beacon, until one night when she sees a very familiar face.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to their respective owners

Yang was in a world of bliss, snuggled comfortably in her bed and dreaming of happier things, until she felt a little corgi jump on her and start licking her face. She groaned, opening her eyes some. "What, Zwei?"

He whimpered at her some before jumping off her bed and moving to scratch at the door. Yang groaned some before sitting up and pulling herself from her bed. She was wearing an orange tank-top and black sweatpants, for the cold, winter weather.

"Just give me a sec." She yawned out, trudging over and putting on a pair of shoes. She walked over, opened the door and followed Zwei through the house and out the front door. The second she walked outside, she was greeted with a winter wonderland, snow covering everything as far as the eye could see, and she wanted nothing more than to be back into her warm, inviting bed.

She fought the shiver that started to overtake her and hugged her body with her arm. "Maybe I should get a jacket." She shook the idea off as soon as she had it. She wasn't going to be outside too long, all Zwei had to do was pick a tree. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

Zwei walked from tree to tree, staring and sniffing them but always turning his nose up and them and walking away. He had already inspected all of the trees on the property and was wandering away.

"Zweiii," Yang said, "just pick a tree already! It's cold outside." She shivered, trudging after the little corgi who was just going farther and farther away from home. Zwei just looked at her with a little puppy grin, tilted his head and continued walking away.

After another five minutes of walking in the cold, Yang couldn't help her growing irritation. "Zwei, stop acting like Weiss and pick a tree!" That seemed to struck a chord with him, because he ran off to a tree a little farther away and finally did his business. Yang sighed, happy that she could finally head back to her bed.

"Thank you," Yang said, "Now, let's go home." She turned around, expecting Zwei to follow. He didn't.

 _ **Arf, arf**_ Yang turned towards the sound just in time to see Zwei running even farther away from home. "Zwei!" Yang yelled, "Home is this way!" She chased after him, trying to catch up. He was going to be in trouble when she finally caught him.

Of course, the corgi didn't make catching him easy. He would only stop for a couple seconds to sniff the air before he'd start running again. He darted through bushes and foliage, and she would follow after as best she could. Whenever she would get close, he would jump through more foliage. Needless to say, Yang was getting irked.

Eventually, she finally got him cornered in a patch of trees. Or, at least, she thought she did. He sniffed the air one more time and jumped through another patch of foliage, making Yang groan and step through it after him.

When she finally got through, she saw the corgi sitting with his back facing a fire, staring at her with his head cocked to the side, waiting. "Zwei, when we get home, you're in so much trouble!" She said, irritated. She cast a stern look into his little face, and he used his puppy-dog eyes on her. She could feel her resolve shake some. She slumped her shoulders, shook her head and sighed. "Fine, you're not in trouble. Let's just go home now."

Yang's eyes darted up the second she heard some shallow chuckling. "Never thought I'd see you give up so easily." It took her a few seconds to find the source of the voice, but her eyes glared daggers the second she did. On the other side of the fire was Mercury Black leaning back, his hands supporting him, with a smug grin on his face.

" _Mercury_." Yang said, her lilac eyes turning a deep shade of red. "What are _you_ doing here?" She was starting to wish that she had brought Ember Celica with her.

"Why do you care?" Mercury said, nonchalantly.

"Because I don't trust you." Yang said. "You and your team tried to destroy Beacon!"

Mercury sent a smug smirk her way, "Tried? I think we succeeded." Yang's glare deepened and she struck a fighting pose. "Heh, settle down, Blondie. I'm not up to anything."

"Where's your team?" Yang said.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Mercury shrugged his shoulders.

Yang cast him a wary look. She wasn't sure that she believed him, but she decided to let it go. Even though she would never admit it aloud, she knew there was nothing she could do about him while unarmed. She turned her back towards him but have him one final glare over her shoulder. "If you try anything in Patch, I'll be here to take you down."

"Yeah, yeah." Mercury said. "I'm shaking in my boot."

Yang shook her head and started to walk out of the foliage, "Come on, Zwei, let's go home."

 _Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it._


	2. Chapter 2

The sunlight filtered through the blinds and illuminated Yang's sleeping form. After a few moments, one of her eyes peeled open to look at the time. It was one in the after noon. With a sigh, she pulled herself up into a sitting position and rubbed at her eyes with her fingers.

Her growling stomach compelled her to get out of bed and go to the kitchen. There was a breakfast plate of bacon and eggs waiting on the table with a note.

 _Yang,_

 _I was asked to help provide protection for the team working to rebuild Beacon. I'll be gone for a week or two, but don't worry, I'm just taking care of some Grimm that have been seen in the area. Your uncle Qrow is going to be checking in on you. Keep safe._

 _Love, Dad_

 _P.S. I know we don't have much food in the house, so I've left some money on the table._

"Looks like it's just the two of us here for now." Yang said. She grabbed her plate and a fork and took it to the table to chow-down while Zwei begged her for scraps. It wasn't hard to find the few lien cards under the table's salt and pepper shakers. The bacon and eggs were ice cold, but that was expected. After all, who knew how long it had been since her dad made the food.

She picked at the food on the plate for a couple moments, barely touching it, before she gave it to Zwei. She couldn't stop her mind from wandering back to the woods. To Mercury… "If he's here, that can't mean anything good." She sighed and saw Zwei peer up at her from the plate. "And we'll stop whatever he's trying to do, right?"

 _ **Arf!**_ A smile that didn't quite reach her eyes lit across her face. She stood up and made her way to her room to get prepared for her little _investigation_.

She changed into some warmer clothes and equipped her left Ember Celica. She was going to be ready for anything. Walking back into the kitchen, Yang crouched down by the chowing corgi and patted him on the head. "Be a good boy while I'm gone, Zwei. I'll be back in a little while."

The cold, brisk air enveloped her as soon as she went outside, and she learned the overnight snow had covered her tracks. She would have to retrace her steps from memory. _Hopefully he hasn't moved since last night._

Yang started running through the trees and foliage, jumping through bushes and branches, and landing in clearings ready to fight. But after the fifth clearing she jumped into turned out to be empty as well, she started getting tired and angry, completely forgetting about her depressed funk she was in. She no longer felt the cold air embracing her, instead the heat of her anger and the running made her build up a sweat. "SHOW YOURSELF, MERCURY!" The birds in the nearby trees all flew away with the sudden outburst. "I'M GOING TO FIND YOU!"

The only response she received was the sound of the wind rustling the trees. And it infuriated her. She stopped paying attention to where she ran, running through bushes and jumping into clearings faster than before, until she found one with the ashen remains of a small campfire. She jumped into the clearing, arm at the ready, expecting to be attacked and preparing to give as good as she got. But nothing happened. "Did he leave?" She wondered aloud, scanning her surroundings. Anger at herself for letting him get away started rising within her. If anyone got hurt because of him now, it would be her fault for not stopping him. She turned around, planning to punch the nearest tree to get some of her anger out, when she saw him. Mercury sat right behind her, leaning into a tree to keep upright. "I found you!" She nearly charged at him the moment she saw him, before she took in his appearance. A thin layer of snow covered him like a blanket from his deathly white head to his toes. His armguards were nowhere to be found, and untreated cuts and bruises made themselves known to the world. The next thing she saw, or rather didn't see, is what really shocked her. Mercury's right pantleg was missing from the knee down, and so was his leg. She stood there, paralyzed for a moment wondering just what might have happened, before she rushed over to him, kneeling down in front of him. "Hey, hey!" She shook him some, trying to get a response. She stared into his half-closed, hazy, bloodshot eyes, looking for any indication that he was still alive. She shook him harder, and this time she found herself yelling at him, asking him if he was all right and being more concerned for him than she thought he deserved after what she did, but she couldn't help it – she couldn't just let him die.

Just as she was about to give up on him, she heard his weak, raspy voice. "Aw, didn't know you cared so much, blondie… I'm touched." She ignored the remark. She wanted to snark back at him, but it wasn't the right time. He was knocking on death's door and needed help immediately. Despite all the anger and hate she felt for him and his team, she refused to let him go out like this. She found herself picking him up as best she could with her one arm. He weighed too much for her to safely carry him over her shoulder, all this time of laying around robbed her of some of her strength. Instead, she opted to carry him at her side, her arm wrapped around his stomach. And, against her better judgment, started running as fast as she could back to her home.


End file.
